TOKYO & OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fuzionaire Radioisotope Technologies K.K. (“FRIT”), a Japanese affiliate of radiopharmaceutical company Fuzionaire Diagnostics, Inc. (“Fuzionaire Dx”), today announced a collaborative research agreement with the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Tracer Kinetics at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine. The collaboration will use Fuzionaire Dx’s proprietary chemistry and Osaka’s unique clinical and radiochemistry capabilities to accelerate the discovery of novel anti-cancer radiotherapeutic agents.
The joint research effort aims to produce therapeutic molecules that contain astatine-211, a radioactive isotope, as the tumor-destroying payload. Astatine-211 emits alpha particles, which have enough energy to destroy cells. Unlike available treatments that emit beta particles, alpha particles penetrate a very limited distance, typically a depth of only a few cells. This makes it possible for alpha particles to treat isolated cancer cells, disseminated tumors, micrometastases, and supplement conventional therapies that may leave undetectable tumors that could lead to a recurrence. The initial research collaboration aims to identify clinical candidates for different oncology indications.
The collaboration will also further explore Fuzionaire Dx’s fluorine-18 radiochemistry platform, which can produce radiopharmaceuticals that identify and localize cancerous tissue in positron emission tomography (PET) scans prior to radiotherapeutic intervention, enabling better treatment stratification and monitoring of patient response.
“The Department of Nuclear Medicine and Tracer Kinetics at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine is one of Japan’s leading nuclear medicine departments, with particular expertise in alpha nuclides for cancer therapy,” said FRIT CEO Hiroshi Nakashita, MD. “We look forward to collaborating with leaders in the field on work that could greatly improve outcomes for patients with cancers that are difficult to treat using existing methods.”
Primary leadership for the scientific collaboration includes Tadashi Watabe, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Tracer Kinetics at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, and Anton Toutov, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Fuzionaire Dx.
“We are very pleased to be working with the Fuzionaire team,” said Professor Tadashi Watabe, project research lead at Osaka. “This collaborative research agreement is consistent with our department’s vision to become a pipeline of drug development, moving our research from the laboratory into clinical trials.”
Anton Toutov, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Fuzionaire Dx, added, “There are unique chemistry challenges associated with the synthesis of astatine-211 and fluorine-18 radiopharmaceuticals, and our insights in this area are among the technological foundations of our company. We are excited to combine Osaka’s clinical capabilities and infrastructure with our expertise and technology to develop treatments and diagnostics to impact cancer care.”
About Nuclear Medicine at Osaka University
The Integrated Radiation Laboratory at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine is an interdisciplinary environment combining the use of diagnostic imaging techniques (PET and SPECT) as well as new application areas in therapeutic radiation oncology and radioactive isotopes. The team has the resources and personnel to explore novel radiopharmaceuticals from pre-clinical models to application in clinical practice. The laboratory was led by Professor Jun Hatazawa, one of Japan’s leading nuclear medicine physicians and current President of Asia Oceania Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology.
About Osaka University
Osaka University is a national university located in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest national university in Japan, one of Japan's “National Seven” Universities and consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in Japan with particular research excellence in biology, chemistry, and medicine. Osaka University is a comprehensive university comprised of 11 schools with 16 corresponding graduate schools, multiple joint-use facilities, and national research labs. The university consists of approximately 6,700 staff, 15,000 undergraduates, and 8,000 graduate students across three campus locations.
About Fuzionaire Radioisotope Technologies K.K.
Fuzionaire Radioisotope Technologies K.K. (“FRIT”) is a Tokyo-based radiopharmaceutical company commercializing Fuzionaire Diagnostics’ (“Fuzionaire Dx”) technology in Japan, expanding Fuzionaire Dx’s fluorine-18 radiolabeling platform through partnerships with Japanese pharmaceutical companies and research institutions. The company is also developing new technologies for alpha-emitting radiotherapeutics using Fuzionaire Dx’s chemistry.
About Fuzionaire Diagnostics, Inc.
Fuzionaire Diagnostics (“Fuzionaire Dx”) is a radiopharmaceutical company.
Our patented HetSiFA™ compositions, which are synthesized using our alkali metal catalysis, can incorporate radioisotopes into drug compounds and disease-targeting ligands at record-breaking speed.
We make it possible to rapidly produce a broad range of fluorine-18 radiopharmaceuticals for PET imaging using a single catalyst-driven, disease-agnostic platform. Our technology offers researchers and clinicians a new strategy to accelerate drug discovery and detect, diagnose, and monitor more diseases, earlier, and with unprecedented precision.
In addition to biological imaging for drug discovery and clinical applications, our chemistry is being applied to the development of novel anti-cancer radiotherapeutics.
Fuzionaire Dx was co-founded by a team including CEO Nick Slavin, Chief Science Officer Anton Toutov, PhD, and Nova Spivack, and is advised by leading researchers in nuclear medicine and drug discovery.
For more, visit us at: www.fuzionairedx.com